Two nerds hustle their way from smuggled PCs to tech empire while China's economy explodes around them.
Season 1 • Episode 36
LatestIn the early 1990s, amid China’s economic reform, computer researchers Xiao Chuang and Pei Qinghua seize an opportunity in the growing tech industry. Under Tan Qizhang’s guidance, they evolve from selling foreign computers to leading independent innovation, rising as industry pioneers.
Production
Meticulous period detail: brick phones, floppy disks, smoke-filled deal rooms.
Acting
Leo Wu's chaotic energy vs. Hou Minghao's restrained desperation.
Writing
Business negotiations as thrilling as any action sequence.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The series coincided with China's tech crackdown, making its celebration of entrepreneurial capitalism accidentally subversive. Viewers debated whether it was nostalgic escapism or coded criticism.
Leo Wu studied actual 1990s entrepreneurs including Liu Chuanzhi (Lenovo founder) and reportedly insisted on using period-accurate keyboards despite production's preference for modern replicas.
CN
